Just Look at Us
by JenRiley16
Summary: That summer was filled with so many firsts and even more almosts. That summer, she found the friends of a lifetime.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Fuck, she is so hot," Richie groaned, propping his chin on his hand.

He was staring at Olivia Cast, who had just rushed into class with a tense smile aimed at their teacher. She had long golden curls that were currently pinned to the top of her head, with a few loose strands left to dangle by her face.

"Sh—Shut up," Bill said, tossing his eraser at Richie. "Don't b-be we-we-ird about it. She'll hear you or something, then w-w-wuh-hut?"

Richie shrugged as Mrs. Willoughby—a hefty woman with small, squinty eyes—beckoned the girl to her seat with a sigh. "I don't know, maybe ask her out like I've been dreaming about doing ever since she sat in front of me this year." He paused and lowered his voice as Olivia came their way. "Aren't you guys friends? Hook me up, Big Bill."

The boy mimicked Richie and shrugged. "We used to be. She stopped really hanging around with me after my mom cancelled her piano lessons."

The two went stock still when Olivia approached and slid into the chair in front of Richie.

"Hey, Richie," she whispered to him when she turned around in her seat. He swallowed fast and blinked owlishly at her, exchanging a quick look with Bill. "Do you have a pencil that I could borrow?"

Richie's eyes went wide behind his thick lenses. "You know my name," he said dumbly.

Olivia laughs. Her lips part to say more, but Mrs. Willoughby clears her throat to start class. Giving him an apologetic look, Olivia turns around in her chair.

Sitting back, Richie glances at Bill with a slack jaw. "I'm in love," he whispers, ignoring his friends' eye roll.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Beverly Marsh slides into her usual spot across from Olivia with a tray loaded with tator tots and a sloppy joe; her small portion of fruit cocktail looks like an afterthought.

"Guess who I finally had a conversation with," Olivia says as Bev pulls the paperback—_Animal Farm_, an assigned book from Mrs. Willoughby that Olivia had actually enjoyed—out of her hands.

Bev guffawed. "No way. I thought you were joking when you sat in front of him in your English class. You know he has a crush on you, right?" She popped a tator tot in her mouth. "I can't believe it took a whole year for him to talk to you."

"Shut up," Olivia admonished softly, tucking into her green beans. "I think it's sweet."

"You would have a thing for Trashmouth." Bev rolled her eyes, but she had this quirk of a smile on her lips that let Olivia know she was only joking.

Olivia frowned. "I don't like that nickname."

Bev watched her friend for several seconds as her eyebrows knitted together and her mouth had that annoyed purse that made her look like she had a frog hiding behind her teeth. She glanced up, then grinned. "Don't look now, but your lover just walked into the caf."

Without registering the surprise on Bev's face as Olivia fully turned around, she zeroed in on Richie Tozier entering the a la carte line with Bill Denbrough, Eddie Kaspbrak, and Stan Uris behind him. He was yelling something and waving his arms; Stan heavily sighed, but Bill nodded encouragingly while Eddie talked back.

Olivia didn't even realize she was smiling until Bev yanked on her shoulder. "He's gonna notice you staring, loser."

Spinning around, Olivia nodded succinctly, ignoring the burning sensation in her cheeks. "I wasn't staring. Anyway, Bev, I've got that grape lip smacker that you wanted to try—hold on..."

As she dug into her bad for the tube, the boys walked by their table, trays in hands. Richie's eyes cut her way and they locked gazes. She smiled; his lips parted, then the edges curled as he followed his friends.

God, he _was _kind of cute...

"Stop it," Bev said suddenly, startling Olivia out of her reverie; she dropped the lip smacker and had to bend over backwards to find where it rolled. "Stop it right now! I already know what you're thinking and no, you can't like him."

"Who said I liked him?"

"Your face! I'm your best friend, I know when you like someone."

Olivia faltered for a moment, then her chest puffed up. "Well, you like Bill Denbrough!"

"Shut up!" Bev clamped her mouth shut and went back to stacking the tator tots left on her plate before sighing. "I just don't want you to ditch me. You're the best friend I've ever had, Liv."

There were several seconds of silence, then Olivia chucked the lip smacker at her friend; it hit her square in the sternum and Bev rubbed the spot as she plucked up the tube. "How dare you, Beverly Marsh? I would never, ever ditch you, especially not for some boy."

A wry grin found its way to Bev's freckled face and both girls just stared at one another, smiling. Bev looked down absently at the tube she was holding. "I really do like this flavor."

"I know you do, loser, that's why I'm giving it to you." Olivia lifted up her plate when the lunch bell rang; she waited for Bev to follow before continuing. "Anyway, since today's the last day of school, do you wanna spend the night?"

Bev held the door for Olivia and both girls stopped outside the cafeteria; they were going opposite directions for the last two periods of the day. "Aren't we already going to the pool?"

Olivia shrugged, pausing for a beat when Richie Tozier and his friends exited the lunchroom in raucous laughter. She turned back to her friend. "Yeah, but we can go to my house afterward to make a night of it. I'll show you that book of hairstyles my mom got in Portland last week. We can try some of them."

"I don't know," Bev hedged, but she looked like she knew the answer. "My dad didn't even want me to go to the pool."

"Fine, but next time, I'm marching up to your house myself to ask him."

Bev adjusted the straps of her backpack. "Well, I'll see you after school. Meet out front?" When Olivia nodded, Bev smiled. "And thanks for the lip shit, I'll be wearing it when you see me next!"

"Alright," Olivia called down the hallway, "but don't expect me to smell your lips!"

* * *

There was still no sign of Bev, even though the final bell had rang fifteen minutes ago. "Fuck's sake," Olivia mumbled, arms dropping from her backpack straps to her sides. "We could be halfway to the pool by now…"

Sighing in faux annoyance, Olivia meandered closer to the sidewalk, passing a couple girls from math and smiling. She was just about to park her ass on the curb to wait when she saw Henry Bowers and his stupid cronies advancing on a group of boys.

Olivia groaned and started in their direction, lips pursing when she realized that the boys Henry was going after were Richie Tozier and his friends. Her eyes lingered on Bill Denbrough for a few seconds hesitantly. "I could be at the pool," she muttered, stomping with more vigor. Victor Criss started to wave her off—everyone suspected he had a long-standing crush on her, not that she gave a damn—but she aimed a kick at his shin and he immediately side-stepped her.

Henry yanked Richie Tozier backwards, pinballing him into Stan Uris, and the pair tumbled to the ground, and right as he leaned in to spit on Richie for good measure, Olivia inserted herself between the pair.

"Fuck off," Henry snarled, looming dangerously over her.

"_You_ fuck off," she hissed, folding her arms and glaring daggers at him. "It's summer, asshole. Surely you've got something better to do than beat up on eighth graders. Or are you really just that pathetic?"

Bowers growled and looked around for a moment, spotting the policemen standing near the curb with a middle-aged woman. His fists clenched and unclenched. "This time," he said, holding up a finger when the cops glanced at them. He glowered at the four beside her and then stalked off with Belch Huggins, Victor Criss, and Patrick Hockstetter in tow.

After the three of them were out of sight, Olivia turned to the boys, fully prepared for what was about to happen. Bill stared at her with a small smile on his face, Stan and Eddie were stunned, and Richie was wide-eyed and blinking fast. He, of course, was the first to say something.

"What the fuck was that?"

Olivia chewed on her lower lip and smiled loosely at them. "I don't know. He usually terrorizes me, too, but I can never predict how he'll react to anything." After a beat, "He's also dating my older sister."

"Holy fuck!" Richie exclaimed. "That asshole's dating your sister? Does he come over for dinner? Do you have to sit at a dinner table with Henry-fucking-Bowers?"

They all glanced over their shoulders to see if the boy had heard Richie's screeching, and sure enough, he was watching them with mean eyes. Olivia cleared her throat and wisely turned Richie back around. "Yes," she says softly, "I do have to have dinner with him. Katie brings him over a lot, so I see him…well, a lot. This summer's gonna blow."

"Just hang out with us!" Richie said brightly. "I mean… Bowers hates us, so you'll probably still see him, but…um… I'm not selling this very well. My point is that we're fun. I'm fun."

At the mere mention of hanging out with the boys, Olivia's eyes cut to Bill. His gaze on her was steady, but she struggled not to lower her eyes. _I don't understand_, his face said. _Why did we stop talking? _

_Because_, she wants to shout. _Because, because, because!_

"I don't know," she says, cowardly looking away from Bill. "I don't… Fuck's sake, where is Bev?"

"Who's that?" Eddie asked suddenly, and Olivia looks over at where he's gesturing.

"Betty Ripsom's mom," Stan says, nodding at the police officers that Bowers had spotted with the teary-eyed woman.

They are silent for several seconds while they watch the officers shake their heads at one another and Mrs. Ripsom starts crying again. She's made a routine out of coming to the school every day to see if Betty is there, even though she's been missing since Christmas.

"Poor lady." Olivia shakes her head, thinking about the look on her own mother's face when the town found out that Betty disappeared. "My sister Katie was friends with Betty."

"Jesus Christ," Richie mutters, eyes darting to and away from Olivia. "Does she really think she's just gonna walk out of HomeEc?"

"Do you think they'll actually find her?" Eddie asks quietly.

Richie snorts. "Yeah, they'll find her. Dead in a ditch and covered in maggots."

"She's not dead," Bill snaps, and all eyes are on him; Olivia watches his jaw tighten. "She's just missing."

"Right. Sorry, Bill. She's just missing."

Olivia stares hard at Bill then, wondering how, exactly, he had taken her just disappearing from his life without protesting. _I didn't meant to. I didn't_. Bill glances over before Olivia can look away and nods like he understands. Bill understands everything, but Olivia wishes that sometimes he would just get mad.

"What were you waiting out here for, Olivia?" Stan asks primly.

She turns away from Bill's forgiving gaze and sighs. "Oh, um, my friend Bev. I dunno what's holding her up; it's been like twenty minutes."

"Wanna come to the Quarry with us?" Richie interjects. "We're going to the Quarry."

"No, we're going to the Barrens—"

"Fuck the Barrens—"

"Actually," Olivia starts, and Bill and Richie both get quiet, "I was going to go to the pool with Bev. It opens today."

Richie slings an arm around Olivia and pulls her against him; a laugh involuntarily bubbles from her mouth. "Pool's overrated, lover. Ever jumped off the cliff at the Quarry into the lake below?"

"No—"

"Neither have you," Eddie murmurs, carefully avoiding the stony gaze he receives in return.

Guiding her to the bike rack, Richie pins her with a wide smile. "You should come with us. Bring Bev, too. The more the merrier."

"Don't listen to a word he says, Liv," Stan advised, taking her by the shoulders and maneuvering her away from Richie. She blinks at the nickname that easily spilled from his lips. "He's what you call a lecher."

"Okay, fair, but I still resent that."

A grin splits Olivia's face and she laughs. The sound is enough to make Eddie and Stan move to manually shut Richie's gaping mouth. "I'd love to," she said, a little shocked to find that she actually meant it, "but I really can't today. Bev and I made plans for the pool. Her dad…prefers we keep to our original plans."

Richie groans. "Lame!"

"R-Rain check?"

Olivia meets Bill's eyes and her lips purse again. _Yes. Say yes._ "Okay," she murmurs, hoping no one notices the slight tremble in her voice. "Rain check."

"Quarry," Richie says, right as she takes a step back to start looking for Bev again.

Olivia laughs once more and bobs her head, curls swishing around her face. "Quarry."

"Fuck," Richie moans when she turns away; Olivia pauses for half a step before she realizes she wasn't meant to hear that. Then, smiling, she continues to the curb that she meant to sit on to begin with.

* * *

The girls pick out lounge chairs that are close to the pool with a full view of the sun. "I wish I wasn't so pale," Bev says absently as they spread out their towels.

"Please," Olivia groans, tilting her sunglasses to look at the redhead. "I wish I was as fair as you."

"Says the sun-kissed, golden-haired goddess!"

They laugh and take off their swim covers; they are both wearing one-pieces, because Alvin Marsh could be trusted to drive by at least once and he was not a fan of bikinis—Bev's is black with neon swirls while Olivia is shimmery purple.

"What are we gonna do this summer?" Bev asks, adjusting her sunglasses.

"I don't know, but I gotta stay out of the house," Olivia said seriously. "These last few months with Henry Bowers over there day in and day out are killing me."

Quietly, she thinks about the way her doorknob twisted last night after she had turned her lights off. It had been happening more frequently the last few weeks, ever since her fourteenth birthday. No one in her family ever said anything about it, but Olivia had taken to pushing her dresser in front of the door every night just in case.

Out loud, she says, "I just hate that guy. He's making my sister even crazier."

"Is she still a cunt to you?"

"She's always a cunt." Olivia crossed her legs and watched the children splashing in the water for a while. "How's your dad been?"

The way Bev flinched, you'd think Olivia had smacked her across the face. She quickly shrugged. "The same. I'll probably... I probably won't be able to hang out tomorrow."

Olivia doesn't say anything, instead thinking of how Alvin Marsh looked at his daughter, and how it reminded her of the warnings her police officer father had given her on child predators. _But that's none of our business,_ her mother's voice would chime. _We don't get involved in another family's private matters. _

_Maybe we should,_ Olivia's brain whispers, _if that private matter makes an innocent girl have nightmares so bad sometimes she still can't see what's real when she opens her eyes. _

"Anyway," Olivia said, physically shaking her head so she wouldn't think of things that go bump in the night like her sister's boyfriend or her best friend's dad.

"Yeah, anyway..." Bev sits up, rubbing her arms like she's caught a chill, even though it's been hot out since the beginning of May. "Wanna go swim?"

Olivia nodded and the girls started for the edge of the pool, before something caught Bev's eye.

"Oh, fuck," Bev started, lowering her sunglasses.

Before she could finish—or Olivia could ask _why, fuck_—a skinny arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Crazy…" Richie said with a Cheshire grin on his face, "meeting you two beautiful babes here. What a coincidence…"

"Did you follow Olivia's scent here?" Bev asked flatly, making Stan smirk.

Olivia laughed, noticing Richie's grin loosen. "Did you ditch the Barrens just so you could come see me? School only ended an hour and a half ago; do you already miss me that much?"

"Oh, I always miss you, lover," he said, leaning into Olivia further, scrunching his nose centimeters from hers. "We shan't be apart for too long, or I fear I shall die!"

"Whatever, Trashmouth," Bev scoffed. "We're in public, so don't get us kicked out. Who wants to get in? I'd like to get pruny before dinner time."

Stan Uris trailed after Bev immediately, straight-backed and neutral-faced. Bill Denbrough looked carefully at Olivia before dipping into the pool as well. Eddie Kasbrak turned to Richie and Olivia.

"How many kids do you think piss in that pool?" he asked, and Olivia slapped a hand over her mouth to hold back her laughter.

Richie smirked. "Don't you pee while you shower, Eds?"

"Don't call me that! And what do you think I am, an animal?"

"Right, right. I forgot you don't take showers—your mom gives you sponge baths, doesn't she?"

"Shut up, Trashmouth!"

Olivia ducked out from underneath Richie's arm. "As hilarious as this banter is, I think I'm going to go get a little wet."

"Baby, I can get you more than a little—ow!"

* * *

With towels wrapped around their shoulders, the girls walked down Lowell Street, where the houses were broken down and falling apart. The sky was beginning to darken, and Bev's feet's dragged like she wasn't quite ready to step into her own house.

"I'll spend the night soon," Bev promised, staring ahead where her house sat at the edge of the street.

Olivia nodded. "And I'll do your hair. There's this really neat braid that would look so—"

"Bevvie!" Alvin Marsh shouted; both girls started and sagged at the sight of the wiry man on his porch. "Bevvie, hurry up! Come on, girl, I've been waitin' on you!"

"Thanks for walking me," Bev said hurriedly, pulling the towel tighter around her body. "I'll see you later this week?"

Olivia's eyes stayed on Alvin Marsh's folded arms. "The boys invited us to the Quarry to swim," she murmurs quickly. "How about Saturday?"

Bev winced when her father shouted again. "Saturday sounds good. I'll meet you at yours as soon as I can come." She smiled thinly and Olivia hesitated when her friend turned away, but let her disappear into that house with that man.

* * *

The slump of Bev's shoulders as she trudged toward her front door was still haunting Olivia after dinner.

Her mother was washing dishes at the sink, humming softly. The TV in the living room was so loud that there was no way her father could overhear anything that was said. Not that he ever listened anyway.

"Mom," Olivia said softly. The woman paused for a moment, then continued scrubbing. "I know I've already told you about this, but...I think something is going on at Bev's."

The dishes clattered and Olivia straightened as her mother turned to look at her. "Honey," she stayed, lips pinched in a tight smile, "like I've said, whatever is going on at that house, is none of our business."

Olivia twisted her fingers. _Are you sure?_ she wanted to ask. "I...I... Mom, don't—"

The woman reached out and grabbed Olivia's hands, squeezing hard enough to make her wince. "Darling, you shouldn't even be friends with that little tramp anyway."

This time, Olivia just stared. Her mother clicked and then turned back to the sink, humming again.

Olivia's eyes dropped to the floor and she ignored the sudden burning.


End file.
